Training and development grants and action plan unveiled during Technician Commitment anniversary celebration
We have committed to awarding £5,000 in training and development grants as we mark five years of support for the Technician Commitment.
The Royal Society of Chemistry has committed to awarding thousands of pounds in training and development grants as part of a celebration marking five years of support for the Technician Commitment.
Chief executive Dr Helen Pain reaffirmed our backing for the pledge in a speech at Burlington House, while we also unveiled a new medium-term action plan.
Kelly Vere, Director for the UK Institute for Technical Skills and Strategy and the Technician Commitment, and Joanna Scamp, Technical Manager (Technician Commitment) at the University of Kent, also addressed guests at the relaunch event.
The celebration also saw the winners of our 2025 Technical Excellence Prizes receive their awards for their hard work, dedication and technical skills during a special presentation.
As chair of the UK Institute for Technical Skills and Strategy’s (ITSS) Advisory Board, Dr Pain spoke of her pride at seeing our organisation continuing to support the often-unsung heroes of the scientific community.
"It’s very reassuring to know that the work that we’ve done to date really has created impact and allowed us to continue to support our community as chemists, not just in research institutes and higher education, but also our commitment to the Technician Commitment is actually across the whole chemistry profession," said Dr Pain, who has also previously served Chair of the Technician Commitment Steering Board.
We know that culture changes don’t happen overnight, they don’t even happen over five years, but in the five or more years that the Technician Commitment has been established, I have seen real change.
Dr Helen Pain
"Now I’ve seen that from my perspective, but where it really matters is if those working in roles that we support see the change and feel the change too, and I very much suspect that we must not let that commitment finish or come to an end, it needs to continue through generations, and that’s an important part of the work that is ongoing."
Funding the future
The Technician Commitment celebration comes soon after the initiative passed its eight-year anniversary. More than 100 organisations, including major universities, public research bodies and professional societies, have signed up since its inception.
The purpose of the initiative is to ensure these invaluable members of staff are recognised, supported and celebrated for the essential yet at times unheralded role they play in universities, laboratories and research institutions.
The RSC has been a key advocate, offering professional registration routes, training frameworks and community networks for technicians in the chemical sciences, as well as offering funding.
Catherine Perry, Professional Registration Specialist and Technician Commitment Lead for the RSC, announced that £5,000 will be made available in the form of grants for technician training. Each grant will be worth up to £500, with details of how and when to apply set to be announced in due course.
She said: "The RSC’s purpose is to help the chemical science community make the world a better place, and the event aimed to demonstrate how that statement absolutely extends to the technicians who help make up our valued community.
"Engagement with our community has allowed us to be successful so thank you for your involvement and ideas to help us tailor our support for the technician workforce so that we can to continue to champion and advocate for the chemical science technician community.”
On professional registration, Dr Pain added: “the numbers of technicians achieving Registered Science Technician and Registered Scientist through the RSC has seen a considerable increase since we became a supporter of the Technician Commitment and I’m very much committed to ensuring we continue that because it’s not just good for chemistry and the individual who receives it, it’s also good for the science profession as a whole.”
Offering opportunity
Through the ground-breaking work of the Technician Commitment, professional designations – such as Registered Science Technician status – and dedicated support from professional bodies, awareness and recognition of the invaluable role that technicians bring to the chemical sciences is increasing across the sector.
The growth in technical staff numbers is something that Dr Pain - who has also previously served Chair of the Technician Commitment Steering Board - is particularly proud of.
"I’m very much committed to ensuring we continue that because it’s not just good for chemistry and the individual who receives it, it’s also good for the science profession as a whole," she added.
As well as the financial backing, the RSC has also committed to a new action plan that will run until 2028. The commitments build on work done five years ago and will focus on the same four pillars: visibility, recognition, career development, and sustainability.
Among the actions committed to in the plan are:
- The delivery of a biennial National Conference for Science Technicians, aimed at technical staff in any sector
- A continued push for equality, diversity and inclusivity for technical staff, including through the RSC’s Inclusion and Diversity Fund
- The awarding of prizes that celebrate the impact of technicians as part of our recognition programme
- Apprenticeship support and the promotion of routes into careers in the chemical sciences, as well as accreditation of training providers for apprenticeship programmes
- The facilitation of a technician representative network to share technical knowledge and expertise.
Dr Vere, who is also University Director of Technical Strategy at the University of Nottingham, pointed to the RSC's commitment to joint research, Dr Pain's involvement as Commissioner on the TALENT Commission, and contributions to the first book on technical professionals in higher education and research.
She said: "The RSC has also been instrumental in helping technical professionals see that they are welcome in professional societies — championing professional registration, offering honorary fellowships such as that awarded to my colleague Clare Stevenson, and consistently recognising technical excellence.
"Altogether, this collaboration has been a powerful example of what can be achieved when a professional body truly invests in supporting the technical community."
She added: "The RSC is showing what sector leadership looks like. This matters because when technicians are recognised and supported, the science they enable is stronger, more innovative, and more resilient. The RSC is amplifying that impact right across the sector."
Thank you again to the Royal Society of Chemistry for catalysing progress in the chemical sciences, and thank you all for your ongoing commitment to supporting and championing the technical community. Together, we really can catalyse change — and ensure a culture that recognises and values the contributions of everyone in the research ecosystem.
Dr Kelly Vere
Developed with help from technicians attending this year’s Higher Education Technician Summit, the resulting action plan has been developed in collaboration with the community, for the community. It also followed a very positive self-assessment that brought with it glowing feedback from the Technician Commitment.
Catherine said of the new action plan: "By engaging with the community themselves it meant I could ensure what goes into our action plan going forwards is actually what technicians are looking for their recognition, visibility, career development and sustainability.
"It was reassuring that there are some areas where there’s demand for our existing support to continue, like professional registration and award recognition, but there were some more surprising suggestions coming out of the discussions, which is valuable and means we can stay up-to-date with the challenges faced now and looking ahead."
Valuing achievement
The RSC’s Technical Excellence Prizes were first awarded in 2024 and were created in the aftermath of our review of recognition and our Technician Commitment plans in 2020.
This year’s winners were announced earlier in the year, with Dr Jack Woolley (University of Warwick), Dr Jennifer Kingston (AstraZeneca), and the EPSRC NRF for EPR team (University of Manchester) all earning recognition for their efforts in the laboratory.
To run off a day that celebrated the importance of specialists, the triumphant technicians were honoured as Dr Pain presented each of them with their trophies.
Improving inclusion
The celebration also saw Ms Scamp raise awareness of the newly formed ITSS UK Technical Equality Diversity and Inclusion Network (TEDIN) and its committee. The formation of the TEDIN goes hand in hand with our own commitment to support inclusion and diversity.
During her presentation, Ms Scamp shared the aims of the network, which are to:
- Provide expert advice and oversight to policy, strategy and research development involving EDI issues affecting technicians
- Communicate concerns and issues from technicians to ITSS, to allow the institute to understand and work with partners to address these challenges
- Communicate initiatives and projects undertaken by ITSS to technicians and wider stakeholders where possible
- Liaise with staff networks, representation groups and unions, within Higher Education and research institutions on EDI concerns impacting technicians to ensure that their views are accounted for by ITSS
- Ensure adequate representation of underrepresented groups in ITSS decision making and planning.
She said: “We’re very excited about building an EDI-focused community and I hope that you will join us in being a part of that.
“The TEDIN seeks to provide a network between the UKITSS and other strategic bodies with the technical workforce and to ensure effective communication and representation most impacted by EDI concerns with stakeholders.”
Jo emphasised the value of getting involved in the network, adding: "TEDIN is about collaboration and working together, therefore your voice is essential."
Learn more about the Technician Commitment
To read the RSC’s new action plan in full and get more information about our involvement with this initiative, visit our dedicated webpage. If you are interested in finding out more about our technician support, including the new training and development grants, please email [email protected]
Case study: Supporting technicians
Technicians underpin every area of the chemical sciences, from advanced laboratory research to practical education. “Without technicians, it’s nearly impossible to deliver meaningful practical work,” says Vicky Thomson, senior technician and member of the RSC Education Committee.
The pressures are clear: “We’re helpers by nature, but that can lead to people pushing themselves too far,” she explains. “I’ve seen colleagues leave because they didn’t feel supported.” Training can be patchy, costs of consumables have soared, and in some workplaces, progression opportunities are minimal.
This is why recognition programmes matter. “The Technician Commitment helps raise our profile and show that what we do is essential,” she says. The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) has also been instrumental. “They’ve supported technician conferences, networking, training – and importantly, they’ve made funding flexible enough to cover basic but vital kit. That kind of practical support makes a real difference.”
As Vicky puts it: “STEM doesn’t exist in isolation – technicians make it happen.”